PHOTO VIA OUC
The Orlando Utilities Commission has opened one of the largest floating solar arrays in the United States and the largest in Florida. The two-megawatt system, located at 5301 S. Conway Road [GMap] in Orlando, includes more than 3,400 solar panels floating on two separate arrays that send energy directly into the power grid.
One array faces south, while the other faces east and west, allowing OUC to study how different orientations affect energy output. The project adds to OUC’s growing solar portfolio, which now provides more than 10 percent of the utility’s total energy, which they say is enough to power about 50,000 homes.
The project was built through a partnership with D3Energy, a U.S. leader in floating solar development, under a right-of-way agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation. D3Energy also worked with OUC on its first floating solar project in 2016.
This installation follows the opening of OUC’s Harmony II and Storey Bend Solar Energy Centers earlier this year, which doubled the utility’s solar capacity. The new system supports OUC’s broader goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Studies show that some of the side effects of floating solar arrays, or “floatovoltaics,” include reduced evaporation of a water surface, lower algal growth due to limited sunlight penetration, and they can lower surface water temperatures due to increased shade.
